The Reese Witherspoon-led chick-lit, Legally Blonde, reassembled in New York City as the original cast gathered to celebrate 25 years of the movie and to mark the launch of the prequel series.
Fans enjoyed an immersive event held in Hall des Lumières, Manhattan as part of the celebration of the 2001 comedy movie that had become a pop culture phenomenon. As anticipated, the one-day event, dubbed Elle World Immersive Pop-up, saw the coming together of several of the original movie cast members.
Reese Witherspoon, who starred as the uber-popular Elle Woods, attended the event alongside her original castmates Jennifer Coolidge, Selma Blair, Ali Larter, Matthew Davis, and Victor Garber.
The group appeared together as they reflected on the film’s enduring popularity and its continued influence over two decades after its release.
Jennifer Coolidge, who played Paulette Bonafonté, joined Reese Witherspoon on stage as the crowd celebrated the most treasured friendship from the movie.
Selma Blair, who played Vivian Kensington, was also present at the gathering, thus illustrating how the rivalry between the characters turned into a friendship.
Davis, who played the role of Warner Huntington III, Garber, who was Professor Callahan, and Larter, who played Brooke Taylor Windham, were also present to join their former castmates.
The cast members didn’t only pose for the red carpet, but also engaged in a panel conversation, which gave way to laughter and nostalgia as they looked back at the experience of starring in the Y2K chick flick.
Reese Witherspoon says playing Elle Woods “has been the privilege of my life”
At one point during the conversation, Reese Witherspoon talked about her own experience giving life to the memorable protagonist, and eventually tearing up.
“When I walked in, and I saw this moment, it just felt like it was galvanizing how I felt about playing this character — I’m gonna cry. Playing this character for 25 years has been the privilege of my life.”
She continued:
“People come up to me, and they tell me stories about how they go to law school because of her, or they named their daughter Elle, or they overcame some incredible challenge in their life because she did that. She went through this experience of feeling like everybody was looking down on her or judged her, and I don’t know a person on Earth who hasn’t felt like an underdog in some situation.”
The 25th anniversary celebration takes place as enthusiasm mounts ahead of the prequel series, Elle, which broadens the Legally Blonde franchise. The series will look into the early life of Elle Woods, years before her Harvard law school began.
Starring in the prequel is Lexi Minetree as the young Elle Woods, while June Diane Raphael and Tom Everett Scott will take on the roles of Elle’s parents, Eva and Wyatt.
Other cast members include Chandler Kinney, Jacob Moskovitz, Gabrielle Policano, and more.
Elle is set to premiere on July 1 on Prime Video.
Edited by Gladys Altamarino